Note- KLM boxes are "170 x 23 x 100 cm. The KLM bike box weighs 4.5 kg."
The box I purchased is 177 x 23 x 100 cm and weighs 5 kg. They assured me it was accepted by all the airlines and is better quality...

See the bicycle box behind the man.

So, I bought the giant bicycle box and carried it home on the train. It came out of the office flat, but was so huge that I folded it into shape to carry. My plan was to box up the bicycle at home and then transport it back to the airport, all neatly packed. It didn't occur to me that it's not going to fit in a normal taxi and dragging it along in the box is impossible and stupid.

So, now I have a freaking giant box at home.

Maybe it will be a "practice box" and I can buy another one at the airport with bicycle and pedal wrench on hand.

Anyways, isn't it cute that the bicycle depicted on the box has platform pedals and typical dutch commuter handlebars? And look there's a little light above the lugged fork. Adorable.

Follow instructions.

For my bicycle that's flying away, I can see that I will also have to remove the front wheel... I was hoping that wouldn't be necessary. Luckily, I have friends with experience... and there's lots of advice online for this sort of thing!

When I brought my bike over, I used Taxi Brouwer, which brought a van. Apparently it is not that unusual. Tip: get some bubble wrap to wrap everything up and deflate the tires completely. Maybe KLM has more experience with bikes but AMerican broke one of my shifters. But, luckily, bike parts are easily found in Netherlands.